From Redding Roots to National Spotlight: Megan Rapinoe’s Soccer Legacy and Struggle for Relevance

REDDING, Calif. — Megan Rapinoe, the outspoken soccer star who grew up in the Palo Cedro area just outside Redding and starred at Foothill High School, once commanded the world stage. Today, many observers say she has moved well beyond her “sell-by date.” Like most things "woke", critics argue, Rapinoe is now struggling for relevance and has resorted to the ridiculous—such as casting aspersions on the U.S. men’s gold-medal-winning hockey team—just to step back into the limelight.

Born July 5, 1985, in Redding, Rapinoe was raised in Palo Cedro with her twin sister Rachael and four siblings. Her mother, Denise, waited tables at Jack’s Grill for more than 35 years before retiring recently. The local girl who turned global icon attended Foothill High, where her soccer talent first drew national attention. After a standout college career at the University of Portland, she earned 203 caps and 63 goals for the U.S. Women’s National Team, winning two World Cups (2015, 2019), Olympic gold in 2012, and the 2019 Best FIFA Women’s Player award.

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Her career ended on a sour note many locals still remember. In her final World Cup match in 2023, Rapinoe missed a crucial penalty kick against Sweden, sending the Americans packing in the round of 16—the team’s earliest exit ever. She laughed it off afterward, calling the moment a “sick joke,” then retired later that year.

Post-retirement, Rapinoe has leaned heavily into LGBTQ+ activism and social-justice causes. Openly gay since 2012, she has championed equal pay (securing a landmark settlement with U.S. Soccer), transgender rights, and kneeling during the national anthem. She is engaged to WNBA star Sue Bird, and the couple now co-hosts the podcast “A Touch More,” which draws a niche audience of roughly 430,000 monthly listeners.

Yet her post-soccer spotlight has dimmed—and so has the case for the very “equal pay” she fought so hard to win. Critics point to the hard numbers as proof the disparity isn’t discrimination but simple economics: women’s professional soccer just doesn’t move the needle like the men’s game. The NWSL (women's soccer league) averaged only 228,000 viewers per regular-season game in 2025 (even its championship final topped out at 1.18 million). By contrast, MLS (men's soccer league) regular-season consumption reached 3.7 million gross live viewers per week, with the MLS Cup hitting 4.6 million across platforms. Top European men’s leagues and global audiences dwarf those figures entirely. This is why there is a pay disparity between men’s and women’s soccer—market demand, not misogyny. Rapinoe’s activism ignored that reality, and the settlement she celebrated hasn’t changed the fundamental math.

Detractors say the former star is fighting irrelevance by picking unnecessary fights. She recently slammed the U.S. men’s hockey team on her podcast after their gold-medal victory at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina. Rapinoe accused the players of letting President Donald Trump “co-opt” their achievement during a celebratory phone call, calling the team “clowns” and their laughter “trash.” Critics pounced, arguing the rant was nothing more than a desperate bid for attention from a fading celebrity who has long since passed her prime.

That selective outrage has drawn even sharper fire. While quick to criticize American athletes for showing patriotism, Rapinoe has stayed conspicuously silent on the Iranian women’s soccer players who defied their regime, refused to sing the national anthem, and were granted asylum in Australia out of fear of execution. Fox News’ “Outnumbered” panel highlighted the hypocrisy, noting Rapinoe’s usual eagerness to speak on women’s rights—except when it involves regimes the progressive left tends to downplay.

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Locally, many in Redding still remember the waitress’s daughter who put Palo Cedro on the map. But even hometown fans are divided. Some celebrate her trailblazing career; others see a once-great athlete now chasing headlines with increasingly ridiculous takes to stay relevant.

Rapinoe continues her role as Seattle’s hospitality captain for the 2026 World Cup and recently attended a USWNT match, but the narrative around her has shifted. From Foothill High phenom to World Cup hero to podcast provocateur, Megan Rapinoe’s story is a cautionary tale for many: fame is fleeting, and when the spotlight moves on, some will do just about anything to claw it back.